OCHA Jan 31 Sit. Report - Haiti Progress Review

Note: A number of important updates are in this summary report by OCHA, the UN umbrella organization that coordinates international relief of all the different UN agencies and relevant NGOs.

Most importantly, the CONTACT numbers -- very hard to get until now! - are at the end of this report for those of you who are providers or advocates on the ground in Haiti and seeking to reach 'the authorities at UN or whoever' that is responsible for the aid effort. The field coordination in Haiti is centralized by a UN Cluster team, and broken down by different thematic areas, like protection, food, etc. See below and share widely. The next report will be out around Feb 1...

*(Thanks for my pal and Haiti expert Greg Chamberlain for passing this on. Wish you were with us in Haiti, Greg..) - AC

I. HIGHLIGHTS/KEY PRIORITIES

• Food and shelter remain the priorities for assistance to hundreds of thousands of people in need.
• Health priorities include mobile clinics for first aid, psychosocial support and post-operative care. Cases of tetanus have been reported. Suspected cases of measles were confirmed as chicken pox.
• The WASH Cluster is reaching almost 500,000 people a day with water.
• The port has been declared unsafe for incoming ships following an in-depth assessment. Port-au-Prince airport is operating at peak capacity with an average of 120 incoming flights per day,although ‘no-shows’ are becoming an issue.
• The Government reports that some 340,000 people have now left Port-au-Prince with the largest number of arrivals in Artibonite department.
• Crowd control requirements at food distribution sites remain a concern. Inflated prices for food and other essentials are contributing to rising tensions among the population.

II. Situation Overview

The priorities for assistance continue to be food and shelter. The Government and the Shelter Cluster have adopted a strategy to provide emergency and transitional shelter to the highest number of those in need before the start of the rainy season. This will include distribution of a range of shelter material, including tents,
plastic sheeting, fastening fixtures and rope. A 3,000 person site at Tabarre in Port-au-Prince is almost complete and the first families are expected to arrive in the coming says.

According to WHO/PAHO, medical teams are reporting a shift in the types of cases they are receiving. There is a decrease in trauma cases and an increase in mental health needs. Several medical teams report a growing caseload of diarrhea in the last few days. There have been reports of tetanus, but previously reported cases of the measles were confirmed as chicken pox. WHO is working to overcome challenges related to the cold chain and the distribution of vaccines for targeted vaccination campaigns where there are high concentrations of people in resettlement areas.

As of 28 January, the Government reported that more than 341,000 persons have departed Port-au-Prince for locations outside the capital. This represents an increase of approximately 80,000 people from the previously reported figure of 260,000 as of 27 January, but this may largely be based on better reporting rather than new movements. Over a third of the total – some 133,000 individuals – have arrived in Artibonite department. The Government is concerned about the potential strain on local resources and service infrastructure in these outlying departments.

The acting Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and the OCHA Special Adviser to the Humanitarian Coordinator visited Jacmel and Leogane on 28 January and were accompanied by media representatives. The mission met with several agencies, NGOs and military actors that are providing assistance. Local authorities and responding agencies reported urgent needs in the provision of emergency shelter, camp management, protection, and specialized medical care in orthopedics and physical therapy.

Partners also called for a further roll-out of the cluster coordination structure at the departmental level.

The inter-agency multi-sector needs assessment is continuing. On 28 January, eighteen assessment teams visited 11 areas, concluding coverage of all Port-au-Prince communal sections. Assessments of areas outside of Port-au-Prince continued on 29 January. There have been some delays in the assessment due to the inaccessibility of several communes, including Kenscoff and Carrefour. It is expected that the needs in these isolated areas will be especially high.

Following its formal request for a Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) and Recovery Framework (RF), the Government of Haiti has asked for quick implementation of the PDNA under strong national leadership.
Discussions are currently underway among the Government, European Commission, United Nations, World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank regarding the scope and timing of both the planning mission and the PDNA/RF.

The newly established Joint Operations and Tasking Centre (JOTC) is coordinating procedures for requesting military or police assistance in support of humanitarian relief operations. It is staffed by MINUSTAH, OCHA civil-military personnel and other key partners. Humanitarian organizations wishing to request assistance should be channeled through the appropriate Cluster Lead. Requests for use of military assets must be submitted at least 48 hours in advance to allow for sufficient planning and coordination. Request forms and a briefing note have been developed and a reception centre set up to receive and initiate response planning.

While the overall security situation in Port-au-Prince remains stable, crowd control at aid distribution points, especially food distribution, remains a concern. A UN military escort/protection force was unable to contain the crowd at a food distribution in the Martissant area of Carrefour on 27 January. Two individuals were
detained by the UN military at an incident in Carrefour on 28 January following an altercation involving knives at a food distribution site. The UN military handed the individuals over to the Haiti National Police. The Government is using local radio stations to announce that it is illegal to resell humanitarian aid.

The 12 clusters1 designated in the Flash Appeal are holding regular meetings to coordinate their joint efforts.

III. Logistics

Following light repairs to Port-au-Prince’s south port, an in-depth assessment has found more seriousdamage. The port has been declared unsafe for incoming ships, so landing crafts are being used to offload them, but with very limited capacity and these should be coordinated in advance. Ships are being diverted to intermediate holding. The port of Santo Domingo has three terminals within the bay and provides a viable option for cargo arriving by sea.

The Logistics Cluster has a civil-military coordinator in Miami advising on slot allocations for incoming cargo at the Port-au-Prince airport. A proposal is underway to allocate 50 percent of flights to humanitarian cargo and 50 percent to bilateral flights and flights supporting the Government of Haiti. A bottleneck is being caused by goods arriving without clear consignees, addresses and packing lists. There is also an issue of prioritized flights not being cancelled in time, resulting in disruptive ‘no-shows’.

The cluster reports that 50 trucks are available in Haiti including M6 and long-haul vehicles for inter-agency cargo transport. While the cluster can still assist with urgent requests for fuel on an ad hoc basis, fuel is now available in town and organizations should have no problem securing supplies.

UNHAS has so far transported passengers from 86 organizations, including UN agencies, NGOs, governments and media institutions from Santo Domingo to Port-au-Prince. UNHAS now offers passenger transport from Monday through Sunday. A base camp will be opening in Port-au-Prince in the coming days to provide accommodation for 2staff.

Shelter/Non-Food Items (NFIs)

Government and the Shelter Cluster have adopted a strategy to provide emergency and transitional shelter to the highest number of those in need before the start of the rainy season. This will include distribution of a range of shelter material, including tents, plastic sheeting and rope. The cluster is prioritizing the acquisition of plastic sheeting, corrugated galvanized iron, timber and other fastening fixtures and 44,852 plastic sheets.

Tent distributions to several existing makeshift settlement sites such as Champs de Mars, Place Boyer and Place Saint Pierre are not feasible due to the high density of the population in these areas. Shelter needs will have to be covered exclusively through the provision of plastic sheeting.

An initial mapping of ‘who is doing what where’ has been carried out in order to establish a distribution plan. The cluster is populating an NFI Tracking Matrix to compile stock, pipeline and distribution information from partners. Important capacity gaps remain in NFI and shelter distribution; all partners are encouraged to
communicate their distribution capacities to the cluster.

Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM)

Three planned settlements have been finalized for sites in Parc St Claire in Delmas 33, Parc Colofaire in Delmas 33, and Tabarre 48 Carradeux Street. The Civil Protection Department also began to set up 230 family tents at a site located in front of the airport.
The site at Tabarre is almost complete and the first families are expected to arrive in the coming says. It will accommodate over 3,000 people. According to IOM, partners are setting up 350 ten-person tents, as well as finalizing work on latrines, showers, and electricity for the settlement. The main constraint for efficient site planning remains insufficient sharing of information between partners.

The Civil Protection Department will launch a radio campaign to request community leaders to provide data on displacement of populations in their communities. This information will allow CCCM partners to identify focal points to manage camps and shelter sites. IOM is preparing a Rapid Shelter Assessment (RSA) form to
consolidate data across agencies on displacement in shelter sites.

Food

A total of 585,733 people have been reached with food by WFP and its partners since the start of the response. This is an increase of 127,000 people over the past two days.

Despite significant logistical challenges, WFP food distributions continue to reach the most severely affected people. WFP has been channeling food support through orphanages and hospitals order to target some of the most vulnerable groups. WFP plans to increase coverage to include an additional 370 orphanages, in
partnership with UNICEF.

WFP is also extending its emergency operation for an additional six months in order to continue to assist vulnerable Haitians and to support essential rehabilitation and stabilization measures. In the longer term, a gradual transition from general food distributions to food- and cash-for-work activities is planned, as relief
gives way to recovery.

A large number of bilateral partners and NGOs are also providing food assistance. A centralized tracking needs to be established to avoid double counting reported deliveries. In order to gain a full picture of food assistance and to accurately reflect all efforts, partners are encouraged to report their activities to the food
cluster coordinator.

A cluster tracking sheet template has been posted on http://haiti.oneresponse.info.

Health

Several organizations have reported cases of tetanus, according to the Health Cluster. The suspected cases of measles were later confirmed as chicken pox. The risk of a measles outbreak will depend upon the reintroduction of the measles virus into the population.

PAHO/WHO is insisting that all aid workers going to Haiti should be vaccinated against both measles and rubella to prevent anyone from bringing measles or rubella into the country.

An isolated case of typhoid has been reported. A health situation room has been established and surveillance is carried out through 51 health facilities. A network of 154 health institutions is participating in early warning mechanisms.

In terms of medical supplies, crutches and x-ray equipment are in short supply and specialists in orthopedic and internal medicine are in high demand, according to the cluster.

Some 15,000 liters of fuel has been distributed to four hospitals in Port-au-Prince: General Hospital, Hospital de la Paix, National Laboratory and Isaie Jeanty. A further 15,000 liters of fuel will be distributed over the coming days. The fuel is being provided by the Government of Venezuela.

The cluster has compiled a ‘who does what where’ database to provide an overview of the services being offered in the health sector. It has been agreed that Save the Children will act as Health Cluster Lead in Leogane and Jacmel.

PAHO/WHO has been compiling information on health facilities and their locations. A dataset of over 900 facilities in Haiti, including geographic location and unique identifiers based on codes generated by the Ministry of Health in Haiti, is being shared with partners in order to improve coordination of health services.

WASH
The WASH cluster reached 464,000 people with 2,320,000 liters of water at 133 sites throughout Port-au-Prince, according to UNICEF. The provision of bottled water for public institutions continues in addition to potable water distributions. The distribution of water to orphanages has started as of 29 January.

The cluster is prioritizing the rapid scaling up of latrine construction. There is a need to coordinate sanitation in the camps and to increase partnerships in sanitation. A UNICEF field visit to four settlement sites in Jacmel concluded that the WASH cluster in this area should concentrate on sanitation as the next phase of the response.

Nutrition
The caseload for nutrition support is currently estimated at 480,000 children under five, 120,000 pregnant and 120,000 lactating women. The Nutrition Cluster has finalized an initial mapping of all NGOs working on nutrition in Haiti (available at http://haiti.oneresponse.info).

UNICEF estimates that 50,000 non-breastfed infants need nutritional support. There is currently capacity to reach out to 1,200 of them. The main constraint is the lack of partners. Because of the high numbers of orphans and mothers who are not able to breastfeed, there is a need for infant formula, but it should be provided in a controlled way. A sub-cluster has been activated in Port-au-Prince to oversee all aspects of infant feeding and to ensure coordination.

ACF and Concern are targeting an estimated 40,000 children for treatment of severe acute malnutrition.

Approximately 1,000 children requiring artificial feeding have been identified. A shipment of 288 cans of 32oz ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF) has arrived in Port-au-Prince and will be distributed. A second shipment is expected shortly.

The cluster is looking to expand coverage in Leogane and Jacmel. UNICEF plan to open offices in these locations and to hire cluster coordinators.

Protection

The Protection Cluster has identified priority protection issues, including security around the settlements and access to assistance for vulnerable groups, in particular older persons and people with disabilities. The Protection Cluster is looking to address these issues as a matter of priority and is working in close cooperation with the Shelter and Food clusters. Human Rights Offices outside of Port-au-Prince (Cap Haitien, Fort Liberte, Gonaive, Hinche, Jacmel, Jeremie, and Les Cayes) have been tasked with recording displacement-related challenges.

Following a request by IOM, UNHCR is deploying a Registration Officer and an IDP Profiling Officer to provide technical support to the CCCM cluster with registration and the use of profiling for assistance and protection.

Emergency Telecommunications

WFP and ETC partners are providing internet connectivity and general ICT support to the humanitarian community at the MINUSTAH logbase. Additional access points have been established to allow for improved connectivity.

WFP has, together with MINUSTAH and IHP, initiated engineering work for the provision of communications infrastructure in Camp Charlie (humanitarian base camp to accommodate humanitarian staff). The GSM, donated by Ericsson, has arrived in Santo Domingo and will be transferred to Port-au-Prince to support network access for mobile phones.

IV. Coordination

The Humanitarian Coordinator in Haiti has activated the Humanitarian Country Team to improve coordination and policy making and to ensure equal partnership between the UN and other humanitarian partners, including the Government, NGOs and the Red Cross Movement.

The Directorate General of the Port-au-Prince Metropolitan Mayor's Association (referred to as CIVITAS) has invited all national and international humanitarian actors working in Port-au-Prince to a meeting on 31 January at the Tabarre city hall. The goal of the meeting is to improve coordination of assistance.

The Joint Operations and Tasking Centre is systematizing requests and coordination for the use of military assets by humanitarian partners. A UN civil-military coordination officer has been dispatched to Leogane to
ensure liaison and coordination between humanitarian organizations and the international military.
Since the beginning of the emergency, the EU has deployed over 800 civil protection experts and provided
assistance from 25 EU/EEA countries through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. This has included 12 urban
search and rescue teams; 2 field hospitals; 5 advanced medical posts and 37 medical teams; 7 assessment
teams as well as other assistance. The EU civil protection mechanism also co-financed the transport of an
IHP inter-agency base camp. An EU Civil Protection assessment and coordination team has been on site
since 14 January supporting the activities of UNDAC and facilitating coordination between EU civil protection
teams on site.

V. Funding

The Emergency Relief Coordinator has approved $2 million in funding from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to help earthquake-affected Haitians in the Dominican Republic. Approximately $1 million will go to WHO and UNFPA to boost health services for Haitians needing assistance in clinics along the border. The majority of the remaining funds will go to support the humanitarian pipeline into Haiti.

According to the Financial Tracking Service (FTS), the Flash Appeal is currently 82 percent funded. Of the $575 million requested, $473 million has been received and $12 million has been pledged. Donors are urged to convert all pledges into cash. The agriculture and education sectors are both less than 6 percent funded.

Humanitarian partners have agreed to start consultations for the revision of the Haiti Flash Appeal, which is tentatively scheduled to be finalized by mid-February. The revised appeal will cover a 12-month period.

FTS also documents all contributions and pledges to projects not listed in the Flash Appeal. To date, the combined total is more than $778 million in funding and more than $769 million in uncommitted pledges.

The Emergency Relief Response Fund for Haiti has $73 million in pledges, of which almost $59 million has been received. Over 30 project proposals have been received from across the clusters and are being reviewed. Global Cluster Leads are requested to review and coordinate with their field-based clusters prior to submitting future project proposals to Caroline Peguet (peguet@un.org) and copied to errf-Haiti@un.org.

All companies that wish to make cash and in-kind donations are urged to use the new UN/Business Partnership Gateway, at http://business.un.org. This function matches offers of support with UN needs.

All humanitarian partners, including donors and recipient agencies, are encouraged to inform FTS of cash and in-kind contributions by sending an email to: fts@reliefweb.int.

VI. Contacts

1. OCHA Contacts
(Location/ Role /Name /Contact Details)

New York Desk Officer
Ms. Heidi Kuttab kuttab@un.org
tel. + 1 917367 33 65

New York Spokesperson
Ms. Stephanie Bunker bunker@un.org
+1 917 367 5126

Geneva Spokesperson
Ms. Elisabeth Byrs byrs@un.org
+41 2 2 917 2653, mobile +41 79 473 4570

Geneva Humanitarian AffairsOfficer
Ms. Yasmine Rockenfeller
rockenfeller@un.org
tel. + 41 22 917 1325

Geneva Donor Relations
Ms. Helena Fraser
+41 22 917 1690
mobile: +41 79 444 6025

Geneva In-kind Offers
Ms. Adriana Carvalho-Friedheim
carvalho-friedheim@un.org
+ 41 22 917 3514

Haiti Spokesperson
Mr. Nick Reader
reader@un.org
Mobile +1646 752 3117

Haiti Communications to disaster affected communities
Ms. Kristen Knutson knutson@un.org
+1646 785 0415

Haiti Emergency Relief Response Fund
Ms. Caroline Peguet
peguet@un.org
+509 34912261

Haiti JOTC
minustahjoc@un.org
+509 3702 6613

Dominican Republic UNDAC
undac.rd@gmail.com

2. Cluster Contacts in Haiti

Agriculture Cluster
Coordinator Yon Fernandez de Larrina
Agricluster.haiti@gmail.com
+509 37 63 22 98

Cluster Coordinator
Christopher Gascon

Early Recovery Cluster Coordinator
Jean Marc Cordaro
Jean-marc.cordaro@undp.org

Education Cluster Coordinator Andrea Berther
aberther@unicef.org

Emergency Shelter Cluster Coordinator
Nuno Nunes
shelterhaiti2010@iom.int
nnunes@ion.int
+509 37 01 6065

Emergency Telecommunications
Senior Emergency Manager
Dane Novarlic
dane.novarlic@wfp.org
+971 50 507 1135

Environment Focal point
Antonio Perera
Antonio.perera@unep.org
+509 349 032 50

Food Aid Cluster Coordinator
Raoul Balletto
Foodcluster@yahoo.com
raoul.balletto@wfp.org
+509 37 01 23 77

Gender (Cross Cutting Issue)
Advisor
Victoria Rames rames@un.org

Health Cluster Coordinator
Dana van Alphen
hai.clustersante@paho.org
vanalphe@paho.org

Logistics / UNHAS Cluster Coordinator
Andrew Stanhope
andrew.stanhope@wfp.org
haiti.logs@logcluster.org
+ 503 78 61 5152

Logistics
Logistics Officer
Baptiste Burgaud
baptiste.burgaud@wfp.org
+393490507280 (Mobile)

Logistics Cargo and Storage
haiti.cargo@logcluster.org

Nutrition Cluster Coordinator
Mija Ververs mijaververs@hotmail.com
+509 34 92 0425

Protection Cluster
Coordinator Fabrizio Hochschild
protectionhaiti@gmail.com

Gender-based Violence Coordinator of sub group
Tania Patriota
Patriota@unfpa.org

Child Protection Coordinator of sub group
Ayda Eke haiticpwg@gmail.com

WASH Cluster Coordinator
Souleymane Sow
ssow@unicef.org
+509 34 91 6956

WASH Deputy Cluster Coordinator
Silvia Gaya
sgaya@unicef.org
+88164138587